What diseases does Pfizer treat? A Comprehensive Look at Its Therapeutic Areas

October 9, 2025 •

4 min read

As a global pharmaceutical leader with a vast portfolio of medicines and vaccines, Pfizer operates across numerous therapeutic areas, impacting millions of lives. Discovering what diseases does Pfizer treat reveals a commitment to addressing some of the most complex health challenges of our time, from common infections to rare genetic conditions.

Quick Summary

Pfizer treats a broad range of diseases through its diverse portfolio of medicines and vaccines, focusing on key areas such as oncology, cardiovascular health, immunology, and infectious diseases. The company also invests significantly in rare disease treatments and preventive vaccines for all ages. Recent acquisitions have expanded its presence in targeted therapies.

Key Points

Broad Portfolio: Pfizer addresses a wide spectrum of diseases, with major therapeutic areas including oncology, cardiology, immunology, vaccines, and rare diseases.
Oncology Expansion: The acquisition of Seagen has significantly expanded Pfizer's cancer treatment pipeline, particularly in targeted therapies like antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).
Cardiovascular Focus: Key medications like Eliquis for blood clots and Vyndaqel for a rare heart condition (ATTR-CM) highlight Pfizer's commitment to cardiovascular health.
Infectious Disease Pioneer: Pfizer is a leader in vaccines and infectious disease treatments, with prominent products including the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty and the antiviral Paxlovid.
Specialization in Rare Diseases: The company invests heavily in therapies for rare genetic and metabolic disorders, including gene therapy research.
Shift in Focus: Pfizer has strategically shifted away from broad neuroscience research, though it continues to pursue treatments for some neurological rare diseases.

A Global Leader in Diverse Therapeutic Areas

With a heritage spanning more than a century, Pfizer has evolved from a producer of basic chemicals to a research-focused biopharmaceutical company. Its operations extend globally, and its product list includes hundreds of treatments and vaccines. Pfizer's strategy centers on key therapeutic areas where it can make the most significant impact, often through precision medicine, biologics, and groundbreaking vaccines.

Oncology: Targeting the Fight Against Cancer

Following its significant acquisition of Seagen, Pfizer has doubled its oncology pipeline and substantially broadened its focus on cancer treatments. The company is actively developing and commercializing therapies for a range of cancers, leveraging various therapeutic modalities, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and bispecific antibodies.

Breast Cancer: Ibrance (palbociclib) is a cornerstone of Pfizer's portfolio for hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. The company is also investigating other breast cancer therapies, including ADCs.
Prostate Cancer: Treatments include Xtandi (enzalutamide), a drug for advanced prostate cancer, often in partnership with Astellas Pharma.
Hematologic Malignancies: For blood cancers like lymphoma and multiple myeloma, Pfizer offers drugs like Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) and the bispecific antibody Elrexfio (elranatamab).
Bladder Cancer: The company is advancing treatments for advanced urothelial cancer, with Padcev (enfortumab vedotin) being a key part of its strategy.
Lung Cancer: Pfizer has developed treatments for specific mutations of non-small cell lung cancer, including Lorbrena (lorlatinib).

Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases

Cardiovascular health is another major focus, with treatments for heart failure, anticoagulation, and rare heart conditions. In the metabolic space, the company addresses diabetes and is actively developing therapies for obesity.

Anticoagulation: Eliquis (apixaban), co-marketed with Bristol Myers Squibb, is a leading medication for preventing blood clots in conditions like atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism.
Rare Cardiomyopathy: Pfizer is the developer of Vyndaqel and Vyndamax (tafamidis), which treat transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), a rare and often fatal heart condition.
Diabetes: The portfolio includes medications like Segluromet and Steglatro for type 2 diabetes.
Obesity: Pfizer is a competitor in the growing obesity market, with ongoing research into new weight-loss pills.

Vaccines and Infectious Diseases

Vaccines represent a cornerstone of Pfizer's legacy and current business, offering protection against widespread infectious diseases.

COVID-19: The mRNA-based vaccine Comirnaty, developed with BioNTech, played a crucial role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. The oral antiviral Paxlovid was developed to treat early-stage COVID-19.
Pneumococcal Disease: The Prevnar family of vaccines provides protection against infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV): The vaccine Abrysvo helps protect infants and older adults from RSV.
Meningococcal Disease: The Penbraya vaccine targets multiple strains of meningococcal disease.
Other Infections: Pfizer develops and produces a range of anti-infectives, including antibiotics like Zithromax.

Immunology and Inflammation

In this area, Pfizer targets chronic inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, aiming to address the root causes of these diseases at a molecular level.

Ulcerative Colitis: Velsipity (etrasimod) is a newer oral treatment for moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis.
Atopic Dermatitis: Cibinqo (abrocitinib) is a treatment for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (eczema).
Alopecia Areata: Litfulo (ritlecitinib) was approved to treat severe alopecia areata.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: A biosimilar to infliximab, Inflectra, is part of Pfizer's portfolio for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

Rare Diseases

Pfizer dedicates significant resources to developing treatments for rare and often genetic diseases where there is a high unmet medical need. This includes research into gene therapies.

Transthyretin Amyloidosis: Besides ATTR-CM, tafamidis also treats transthyretin amyloid polyneuropathy.
Sickle Cell Disease: Following the acquisition of Global Blood Therapeutics, Pfizer offers Oxbryta for sickle cell disease.
Gaucher Disease: Elelyso (taliglucerase alfa) is used to treat this metabolic disorder.
Hemophilia: BeneFix (Coagulation Factor IX (Recombinant)) is a product in this area.

Comparison of Selected Pfizer Drugs


Drug Name	Therapeutic Area	Disease(s) Treated	Mechanism of Action	Revenue Trend	Key Competitor(s)
Ibrance	Oncology	HR+, HER2- Breast Cancer	CDK4/6 Inhibitor	Declining due to generics	Kisqali, Verzenio
Eliquis	Cardiovascular	Atrial Fibrillation, VTE	Factor Xa Inhibitor	Strong sales, facing patent expiry	Xarelto, Pradaxa
Vyndaqel/Vyndamax	Rare Disease	Transthyretin Amyloidosis	TTR Stabilizer	Emerging growth driver	Attruby (newcomer)
Comirnaty	Vaccines	COVID-19	mRNA	Dominant market share	Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine
Paxlovid	Infectious Diseases	COVID-19 (early stage)	Antiviral (Protease Inhibitor)	Sales down from peak	Lagevrio
Velsipity	Immunology	Ulcerative Colitis	S1P Receptor Modulator	New blockbuster potential	Zeposia, biologics

Conclusion

From preventing infectious diseases with its suite of vaccines to developing advanced targeted therapies for cancer and rare genetic disorders, Pfizer addresses a vast array of medical conditions. While the company has divested from certain areas like general neuroscience research, its strategic acquisitions and robust pipeline demonstrate a focus on high-impact areas such as specialized oncology, immunology, and rare diseases. The diverse and evolving nature of its portfolio showcases Pfizer's continuous effort to develop breakthroughs that change patients' lives. For more information on Pfizer's research and development, you can visit their website Pfizer R&D.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pfizer treats a range of cancers, including breast, prostate, bladder, lung, and various hematologic malignancies (blood cancers). The company's portfolio includes targeted therapies and drugs gained through its acquisition of Seagen.

Yes, Pfizer co-developed the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, with BioNTech. It also produces Paxlovid, an oral antiviral treatment for early-stage COVID-19.

Eliquis (apixaban) is a medication used to prevent blood clots. It is commonly prescribed for patients with atrial fibrillation and to treat venous thromboembolism (DVT and PE).

Vyndaqel and Vyndamax (tafamidis) are prescribed for adults with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), a rare and serious heart disease.

Pfizer addresses a number of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, including ulcerative colitis (Velsipity), atopic dermatitis (Cibinqo), and alopecia areata (Litfulo).

Pfizer ended its early-stage broad neuroscience research in 2018 but continues to focus on neurological rare diseases and pain medications. A separate company, Cerevel Therapeutics, was formed to continue the development of some CNS assets.

Yes, Pfizer offers a wide array of vaccines. Notable examples include the Prevnar family of vaccines for pneumococcal disease, Abrysvo for RSV, and Penbraya for meningococcal disease.